Clark Kent
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01-09-2010 04:20 PM:
It seemed like the last place the UFC would venture as it expanded its goals of international saturation. When Abu Dhabi entered the discussion as the destination for a future fight card it seemed like there had to be more to the story. Multiple blogs are now reporting that all those trips taken by UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta were also to negotiate a deal to sell a minority stake in the promotion to Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the former United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Tahnoon is a huge fan of mixed martial arts and hold a jiu-jitsu black belt from Renzo Gracie. Gracie's entry into the UFC at age 42 also makes a little more sense now if he was the one who helped put the sides together in the first place. Gracie is rumored to face Matt Hughes at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi on Apr. 10.
MMAPayout is reporting that Sheikh Tahnoon may own as much as 10-percent of the company. Five Ounces of Pain reminded us of several tweets from the UFC's power brokers starting in the August of 2009. white first indicated he was there on Aug. 3. The next Abu Dhabi-related tweet came in November when Fertitta said he was there and asked if anyone wanted to see Gracie fight in the UFC. After UFC 105 in the U.K. White said a crew was headed to Abu Dhabi:
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
It seemed like the last place the UFC would venture as it expanded its goals of international saturation. When Abu Dhabi entered the discussion as the destination for a future fight card it seemed like there had to be more to the story. Multiple blogs are now reporting that all those trips taken by UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta were also to negotiate a deal to sell a minority stake in the promotion to Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the former United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Tahnoon is a huge fan of mixed martial arts and hold a jiu-jitsu black belt from Renzo Gracie. Gracie's entry into the UFC at age 42 also makes a little more sense now if he was the one who helped put the sides together in the first place. Gracie is rumored to face Matt Hughes at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi on Apr. 10.
MMAPayout is reporting that Sheikh Tahnoon may own as much as 10-percent of the company. Five Ounces of Pain reminded us of several tweets from the UFC's power brokers starting in the August of 2009. white first indicated he was there on Aug. 3. The next Abu Dhabi-related tweet came in November when Fertitta said he was there and asked if anyone wanted to see Gracie fight in the UFC. After UFC 105 in the U.K. White said a crew was headed to Abu Dhabi:
"We’re trying to figure out how this thing we’ll work. I don’t have a deal, but I’m pretty confident that we’re going to make one. I really don’t have any details other than that we’re working on it, and we’re confident that it will happen. Obviously, everybody knows Shiek Ta Sheik Tahnoon is a huge jiu-jitsu guy. He’s a Renzo Gracie black belt. He’s very into jiu-jitsu."
Then came the pictures of White and Fertitta with Sheik Tahnoon boar hunting in Morocco in December. White has mentioned in the past the company was willing to sell a minority stake. The Sheik has money. Abu Dhabi is listed as the world's richest city with 9-percent of the world's oil reserves.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
